Before The Madness: 24 Hours Prologue
by JusSonic
Summary: A short solo fic by me. It shows the events that help Gene Burrows get fired and made him the most deadliest enemy of all. R R.


Okay, I got this idea back in the year 2001 but never thought of getting to it...until now. This non-script fic show what happened from Gene Burrows's arrival to work to his firing at the hands of Walter Konin as seen in his biofic. Okay then.  
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It's almost 7:00 at night in the city of Long Beach, California in the year February 6th, 1999. The parking lot of the Long Beach Science Community, where scientists of all kinds can inventions and etc, is almost empty tonight because there are some people working the night shift. One car pulled up and parked in the parking lot. A man by the name of Gene Burrows got out.  
  
"Ah, it's almost 7. I still have about 2 hours to finish my calculations and then complete the formula for its presentation tomorrow." Gene's proud. He is about to present a very important potion to the mayor and government of Long Beach. He knew for certain that it will work and the science community will be famous. Maybe this could help forget the fact that he used to be Slim Berry, but no time to think about it now. "I would have taken my stuff home with me, but I have lots of important equipment that I can't take the chance of damaging by carrying it home or in a bag. Let's hope that statement turns out to be pointless."  
  
Gene headed into the building and to his office. Unknown to him, something big will happen that will change his life...and everyone else's forever. When he came into his office, he noticed that somehow the TV in the room is on.  
  
"Hey, why's the TV on?" Gene asked puzzled.  
  
To his surprise, the on off button that was on the TV is gone.  
  
"Wait a minute, the on off button's gone! Gasp!" He said this because two other buttons on the TV are also Missing In Action. "And so's the volume control and channel changer! So without those three buttons, this TV will remain on to this channel with no way of turning the volume down or changing the channel! And this TV just had to be one of our new ones without a plug!" Gene is worry. If the TV is loud, his work will be interrupted by the noise. There is a possibility that something would go gone. He calms down and looks for the remote control. "It would be bad if I didn't have a remote control."  
  
Unfortunately it is bad, because he can't find the remote control.  
  
"Now it is bad!" moaned Gene. Then he brighten up again. "Wait a minute, why am I worrying? At least Histeria's not on," Gene hated Histeria because it is a prime example of the annoying, stereotypical humor he got rid of as a child and the humor he wanted to get rid of. There are two people he hated from the show as well, but everything's good, right?, "and as long as it's not, it shouldn't distract me from my job."  
  
What he heard on the TV proved him wrong however.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, our regularly seen WB programming won't be seen tonight so we can bring you from 7 to 8 a 1 hour Histeria marathon!" said the announcer to Gene's horror.  
  
"Then again," He screams. He tries to calm down. "Okay, okay. All I had to do is to ignore this and get to work. That couldn't be hard, right?"  
  
He was wrong. As the past few minutes go by, Gene tries to get working on his work. Unfortunately, because the TV is up to full blast, it is difficult to do so. Right now, there is a sketch on TV that is from the Renaissance episode of Histeria and it involves one of the people Gene hated. The loud boy known as Loud Kiddington who is yelling into Leonardo Da Vinci's ear. This hurts Gene's ears as well.  
  
"OW!!" screamed Gene in pain. "My ears! What's going on? Now it's on full blast and the remote's nowhere to be found, what could be..." he is interrupted by Loud's yelling again, "...worse?" finished Gene. He moaned hardly. "Now how will I get work done? I can't break the TV since I stand to lose lots of money on a fine, I can't carry my equipment home or I know I'll break something important, and there's no one else in this building!" He wished his partner Harry Norman was here, but it is difficult because of two things. 1. Harry is on vacation right now, and 2. Harry liked the show Gene hated. Gene breathed in and out. "I'll just have to bear I guess, it's the price of genius."  
  
Unfortunately, what happen later in the episode made him even madder. Miss Information, the woman who always gets things wrong, is in the museum sketch of the Renaissance episode saying that a fresca is a Renaissance soda pop. For this reason alone, it caused him to lose even more concentration and growls even angrily after hearing this.  
  
"This was very distracting before, now at high volume and while I'm trying to get something big finished, it's even worse!! I can barely concentrate!" Gene wants to get the formula done as soon as possible. Gene smiled as something good happened in his work. "Yes! At last, I think we've got something, calculations that can work! All I need to do is write them down to double check them, and if it's accurate, all systems are go for the actual making of the potion!"  
  
Gene believed his luck is finally changing. Unfortunately, in that next episode that shows part 1 of the Civil War, his luck didn't hold on for long. The TV is just showing a sketch that is parodying Seinfeld with the historical figures Lincoln, Pinkerton, and George McCellhan. Gene growls because of the obvious reasons and more.  
  
"I'm this close to finishing my blueprints for making the formula, now this! I never liked Seinfeld and a parody of it doesn't help me! I'm this close to a breakthrough and I've barely been able to keep my temper over this show!! What's next?!" Gene realized he asked a stupid question because the sketch is now over. He remembers what sketch comes after that. A sketch involving a loud boy he hated and since the TV is up full blast... "No, no, not that! Anything but that!!! Not the Gettysburg address sketch, NO!!!! WHERE'S THAT REMOTE???!!!!"  
  
Gene searched frantically for the remote, hoping he can find it and turn the TV down or hopefully off. He decides to look in an empty mouse hole that is in the room. He felt the remote inside the hole and for a minute there, he thought he finally can save himself. But what he saw shocked him and made him scream. The buttons on the remote are gone.  
  
"The remote is ruined, I can't change the channel or turn down the volume, I'm doomed!!" Gene said, in a desperate voice.  
  
As he said this, the sketch now goes to the Gettysburg sketch that he dreaded. Gene decided to get back to work, trying once more to ignore it. But unfortunately Loud's yells only made him angrier and angrier and it made his eyes twitches. Finally, he had it.  
  
"I. Can't. Take this anymore!!!" He cries and sobs. "I can't get this done, I just can't concentrate, he's so annoying." He stops crying and got angrier than before. "That's it. $3,000 fine or no $3,000 fine, this TV's history!!"  
  
Gene goes over to the TV, intending on destroying it. He got too close to it however when Loud starts yelling "HEY ABE!!!" to the 16th president that caused him to be nearly blown away. This is the last straw as Gene destroys the TV and smashes it to pieces. He finally calms down.  
  
"Thank goodness, now to conclude the writing." He returns to his work and gasps. He realizes something bad has happened during what happened. "Oh no, that sketch was so distracting, I can't remember the last part of the formula! Now I don't know if the currentficiant value should be sined or cosined!" He is now even worrier. One false move can finished his life forever. He quickly thinks panicked. "If I pick the wrong one, something bad will happen. Arrgh, I have to guess which one! Um, um, cosined, yeah that should be it! Now to make the potion!."  
  
The next day, Gene is in the large room with the mayor and the government of Long Beach. Gene thought this is the day that will live in history. Unfortunately and unknown to everyone, it will be the baddest one ever. Gene is standing in the middle of the room, as the mayor goes over to him, calling the meeting to order.  
  
"Order! This presentation will now come to order. Dr. Gene Burrows, on behalf of I, the Mayor of Long Beach, you may start your demonstration." The mayor said.  
  
"Thanks." Gene said with a smile. He then talks to the rest of the government. "Ladies and gentlemen, members of our government, today you will be witnesses to the debut of a life changing product! There are millions of people in the world who will do anything to look good, but all they'll need to do is buy this." He then holds the cup that is containing his hopefully prized formula. Too bad he doesn't realize what is going to happen however. "After drinking this, all someone needs to do is think really hard of an image of what they want to look like, and it will read their mind and instantly turn them into that image! To show you what I mean, I've brought a volunteer here with me to show you."  
  
A fat man in a cop uniform came into the room. It is Ralph the guard, the fat cop who is always chasing the Warners at Warner Bros Studio. He stands there like an idiot as usual.  
  
"This is an obese guard at the Warner Brothers lot. When he drinks out of this cup, he will turn into this!" Gene holds up a picture of Ralph, only thinner. He continues on. "All he has to do is concentrate on this image, and he will be turned into it!" Gene whispers to Ralph so no one else can hear him. "Okay, I'm know you're not good at thinking, but you have to think hard about this image of you, and the drink will make you look exactly like it."  
  
Ralph doesn't like this idea at first. "Dah, I don't want to look like that, what will my Squeezies say?" Ralph said in his moronic way.  
  
Gene has no time to argue, especially after what happened last night. He talks in a low voice. "Do it, or you won't get a Twinkle Bun as payment for this."  
  
This convinces Ralph. "Okay!" said Ralph happy.  
  
Ralph takes the cup, thinks hard about the image, or trying to, and then drinks the potion. After a few seconds, he hiccups. Then he goes through some wild takes. Gene thought the potion was working at first, however what happens next shocks him. Ralph begins to blow up like a balloon and is getting fatter. He keeps blowing up, filling up the whole room. The audience begins to panic and so did Gene. He had no idea what just happened.  
  
"NO!! What's going on, why is this not working?!" Gene then realizes why. Something went wrong in his potion and he now remembers the true last part of his formula. "Oh no," Gene said shocked, "the currentficiant value should have been sined! Now that's it cosined, the direct opposite of what I expected is happening, it's making fatter instead of thinner!"  
  
The mayor doesn't care and is not happy either. "Thanks for sharing that, now maybe you have something to fix this!!" He yelled angrily.  
  
Gene thinks fast. "Hold on, I'll be right back."  
  
An hour later, Gene returns. The government people are outside the room now because Ralph is so big, he filled up the whole room. The door looks like it is about to exploded.  
  
"There, now this sined potion should bring him back to normal." Gene announced.  
  
"DON'T TALK, JUST GO!!" demanded the crowd angrily.  
  
Gene heads into the room and climbs Ralph all the way to his large head. Ralph is still happy like an idiot.  
  
"Hi there Mr. Burrows! Gosh what a view up here!" Ralph said stupidly.  
  
"Shut up and drink this." Gene said, not having time to talk. "And please think hard of what you looked like before this happened so I can have some dignity left, pretty please?"  
  
"Dah, okay!" said Ralph, still happy. Ralph takes the cup and throws the whole thing in. After a few seconds again, Ralph hiccups again, and Ralph turns back to normal...well, normal to him, anyway. In a funny moment, Gene and Ralph are above ground and they fall to the ground hard. Both got back up. Gene is hurting, but Ralph looks like nothing happened.  
  
"That was fun!" laughed Ralph, "Can I have my Twinkle Bun now?"  
  
Gene sighed. "Here, take your stupid donut and get out of my sight!"  
  
Gene gave Ralph his donut and Ralph walks happily away with his new snack.  
  
"Dah, a Twinkle Bun, is a Twinkle Bun, is a Twinkle Bun." Ralph said walking away.  
  
Gene thought the worse is gone. He was wrong.  
  
"I suggest you follow your own order and leave, you have embarrassed and humiliated us all today!" said the mayor angrily.  
  
"I swear, this wasn't supposed to happen, met be explain!" protested Gene.  
  
The mayor shook his head angrily. "No explanation in the world could make up for what we've suffered today! We feared for our lives because of you! Get out of here!!"  
  
Gene, shamefully, left the office with everyone looking on angrily. When Gene returns to his office, one of the employees gave him a note to report to Walter Konin's office. Gene is certain Walter would be understanding. Once again, he is wrong as when he came into Walter's office. Gene's boss isn't too happy.  
  
"You wanted to see me sir?" Gene said nervously.  
  
"Yes. I got a call from the mayor today and he told me what happened." said Walter calmly at first.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And pack your stuff and get out!" Walter said exploding like an angry volcano.  
  
Gene is shocked. He knew what this means.  
  
"You're letting me go?!" asked Gene shocked.  
  
"You didn't give me a choice, did you? You ruined everything and you've made us a laughing stock in the eyes of the government!" Walter yelled.  
  
"But I'm not to blame!" Gene protested once more.  
  
"Oh yes, the soon to be old cartoon character distracted me complaint." Walter said, rolling his eyes annoy. "Could it be that maybe you didn't have the concentration of a real scientist to just ignore it?!"  
  
"Have you listened to incessant screaming and idiotic statements for two hours on end?!" Gene hoped that Walter will at least give him another chance. "If not, then I don't see what right you have to not call me a real scientist! Besides, all I need to do is fix my mistake and we'll be back on track."  
  
Walter shook his head angrily like the mayor did. That isn't going to happen.  
  
"You won't do that here. You're fired, pal. I can't take the chance your mistake will damage our credibility, and the longer you're here, the more chance that has of happening since you'll just be known for this the rest of your career." said Walter.  
  
"Not if I have the chance to fix that!" Gene protested more.  
  
"Sorry, pack up your things. I have more important things to do than argue with ex employees." said Walter, not wanting to continued to argued more.  
  
Gene is desperate. It looks like his life is about to crash. "Please sir. You can't do this to me, you can't destroy me like this after all I've been through!"  
  
"After what I've been through today with being yelled at by the Mayor and the government itself, I don't see why not." Walter told Gene.  
  
"But it wasn't my fault, I say that again because it's true, the most truthful thing I've ever said! You can't destroy my life because of their mistakes!" Gene yelled, starting to get even more-angrier.  
  
"I wouldn't go that far to say I destroyed it." Walter said, having no reason to worry.  
  
"I WOULD!!" Gene exploded like an even bigger volcano. "No one will ever give me a job again after this! And let me tell you, if I have to go down, I won't do down alone, do you hear me?!! You'll regret this, when I give justice out for this horror, you'll all be sorry you gave me up!!! You'll all see!!!!  
  
With that, Gene storms out of the office. Gene is really angry. Someone is going to pay for this disaster. Or in this case, two people. A loud boy and a dumb blonde, which will put the states in two events bigger than the last.  
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What do you think? It took me a while, but I got it finished. Please read and review it, people. Thanks to Robert for the events in 24 Hours and helping me out with the biofic that help me end this. 


End file.
